cuStudentLoans Joins With joinStampede

In the first quarter of 2013, consumers owed $986 billion in student loans, up $20 billion from $966 billion in the fourth quarter, according to the New York Fed.

That’s not exactly the gift students are hoping to receive on graduation day.

cuStudentLoans, a private student loan and private student loan consolidation program managed by credit unions, announced this week development of a new private student loan refinancing program for joinStampede, which calls itself the world’s first campaign to bring together people with student debt.

The goal is to use the collective influence of 100,000 people to negotiate better loan terms, joinStampede said.

The joint program, which features a private student loan consolidation without origination fees, was created between cuStudentLoans and joinStampede in response to the 30,000 consumers that pledged interest in refinancing their private student loans through the group discounting initiative.

“The success of joinStampede’s campaign is further evidence that consumers are seeking better rates and terms on their student loans,” said Alice Stevens, chairman of the cuStudentLoans program. “cuStudentLoans is happy to be the answer to their needs and will continue to lower interest rates for graduates holding high-interest private student loan debt.”

The initiative, which will continue to collect registrations from consumers with student debt until May 31 (via www.joinStampede.com), will officially begin accepting applications on June 1.

The program, which features no origination fee, will allow consumers to apply through June 15.

cuStudentLoans, which said it has approved over 10,000 consumer applications for $500 million in private student loan refinancing, says that the average interest rate of private student loans that have been refinanced through their program is 5.66%; a significant difference from the 8.46% average that consumers held before refinancing.

“We’re thrilled to have gained such traction and momentum in a consumer finance category that has plagued so many recent graduates,” said Stephen Dash, founder of joinStampede. “We hope that by partnering with credit unions we can help 30,000 consumers become financially independent and potentially save thousands of dollars in annual interest payments on their private student loans.”